Method for preparing sugar coated, puffed snacks upon microwave heating

Abstract

Disclosed are food compositions and methods for preparing sugary coated puffed snack products upon simple heating of the food compositions in a consumer microwave oven. The food compositions comprise a plurality of puffable farinaceous dough puff pieces or pellets and a puffing media throughout which the puff pieces or pellets are dispersed. The puffing media comprises from about 40% to 95% by weight of a nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agent and from about 5% to 10% moisture. The weight ratio of puffing media to puff pieces ranges between about 4:1 to 0.1:1. The water activity of the food compositions is less than about 0.75. The method for making a coated snack comprises forming a gelatinized dough, shaping the dough into pieces, partially drying the pieces, dispersing the pieces throughout a puffing media to form a puffing media/piece matrix, and microwave heating the matrix to simultaneously puff the pieces and to enrobe the pieces with the fluidized puffing media.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A process for preparing a sugary coated snack product by microwave heating, comprising the steps of: A. forming a gelatinized starch-containing dough having a moisture content of about 12% to 25% by weight;   B. shaping the dough into a plurality of discrete pieces;   C. partially drying said pieces at a temperature of about 70° F. to 200° F. and at a relative humidity of at least 35% for a period of time sufficient to reduce the moisture content of the pieces to between about 5% to 15%;   D. dispersing the partially dried pieces throughout a puffing medium consisting essentially of, from about 40% to 95% by weight of the puffing medium, a nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agent and from about 5% to 10% by weight moisture, wherein the puffing medium is substantially free of protein sources and wherein the weight ratio of puffing medium to the pieces is about 0.1:1 to 4:1, to form a puffing medium/piece matrix; thereafter   E. microwave heating the matrix for about 1-4 minutes to form a plurality of puffed pieces enrobed in a sugar coating; and,   F. cooling to room temperature to harden the sugar coating on the puffed pieces.   
     
     
       2. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein the puffing medium additionally comprises from about 0.1% to 30% by weight of an edible fatty triglyceride. 
     
     
       3. A process in accordance with claim 2 wherein the weight ratio of puffing medium to the pieces is about 1.6:1 to 3.0:1. 
     
     
       4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the dough pieces range between about 0.01 to 6.0 g. in weight.